The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue is a comprehensive nuts and bolts volume that thoroughly examines outdoor cooking—starting with the basics. The 12-page introduction to grilling, “Outdoor Cooking 101,” walks you step-by-step through the essentials of grilling, grill-roasting, and barbecuing using both charcoal and gas grills.

And since outdoor cooking requires just the right tools and equipment, the editors of Cook’s Illustrated share the results of their product tests in an extensive buyers guide, “Equipment and Tools for Outdoor Cooking,” where charcoal grills, gas grills, grill brushes, tongs, instant-read thermometers, and more are rated. At a glance, you will know which brands we recommend (and why) and which to avoid.

Armed with the right equipment and instructions, you’ll be ready to tackle just about any recipe from a simple and perfectly cooked burger to succulent pulled pork and restaurant-perfect grilled tuna. You’ll find more than 450 recipes for all your favorites—steak tips, ribs, and barbecued chicken as well as some that will expand your repertoire—from Thai-Grilled Chicken and Skirt Steak Tacos to Grilled Corn with Spicy Chili Butter and Bruschetta with Fresh Herbs.

The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue also contains more than 300 step-by-step illustrations that walk you through the basics of food preparation, such as how to cut beef for kebabs, trim beef tenderloin, and grill-roast a turkey.

Whether you’re a novice outdoor cook or aspiring grillmaster, this encyclopedic examination of one of America’s favorite pastimes will be your guide to foolproof grilling and barbecuing.

List Price: $ 35.00
Price: $ 22.00

Take a winding cross-country trip and you’ll discover barbecue shacks with offerings like tender-smoky Baltimore pit beef and saucy St. Louis pork steaks. To bring you the best of these hidden gems, along with all the classics, the editors of Cook’s Country magazine scoured the country, then tested and perfected their favorites. HEre traditions large and small are brought into the backyard, from Hawaii’s rotisserie favorite, the golden-hued Huli Huli Chicken, to fall-off-the-bone Chicago Barbecued Ribs. In Kansas City, they’re all about the sauce, and for our saucy Kansas City Sticky Ribs, we found a surprise ingredient-root beer. We also tackle all the best sides.

Not sure where or how to start? This cookbook kicks off with an easy-to-follow primer that will get newcomers all fired up. Whether you want to entertain a crowd or just want to learn to make perfect burgers, Best Grilling Recipes shows you the way.

List Price: $ 29.95
Price: $ 11.98

When cooking outdoors, choose either a charcoal or a gas grill, place it at a safe distance from the house, and gather heavy-duty grilling tools for the best results. Find a variety of ways to use a simple grill with tips from a weekly radio show host in this free video on outdoor grilling. Expert: Tony Fatso Contact: www.OnTheGrillRadio.com Bio: Tony Fatso Siciliano hosts a weekly radio show called ‘On The Grill’. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

by Grand Canyon NPS

Which Outdoor Barbeque Grills – Gas or Charcoal?

If you’re considering purchasing a barbecue grill, are you wondering whether gas or charcoal barbecue grills are best? In fact, it’s a matter of your own personal taste, and the convenience you may or may not want to embrace. Both gas and charcoal barbecue grills have their advantages and its advantages, and it’s up to you to pick the right one for you based upon your own personal needs and wants:

Convenience, or flavor?
It really does boil down to this (or should we say, “grill down to this”?) single question. If you are a grilling “purist,” such that your barbecue grill’s results have to have that authentic, smoky flavor, you’ll want to go with charcoal.

If, however, you’re not really into “smoky” barbecue flavor all that much, or you’d rather have the convenience and are willing to skip the flavor, gas barbecue grills are the way to go.

Advantages of charcoal barbecue grills
Again, nothing beats the authenticity of authentic charcoal taste. Charcoal briquettes also light very quickly and easily, especially if you use an electric starter. There is virtually no open flame, so they are relatively safe to use (although you should still use charcoal grills only in the out of doors). They also provide a nice, even, slow cooking kind of heat that won’t flare up.

Disadvantages of charcoal barbecue grills
The major disadvantages of charcoal barbecue grills are the mess and fuss of the charcoal itself. Charcoal is messy, and you’ll need to be willing to put up with it and clean up after the fact. Still, if nothing but good “home smoked flavor” will do for you, this is a small price to pay.

The other thing about charcoal barbecue grills you should keep in mind is that although they’re generally less expensive for the unit itself as opposed to gas, they’re actually MORE expensive to run, because you are constantly having to buy charcoal briquettes to fuel your cookouts. Expect to pay about five dollars per cookout with charcoal briquettes, versus about $ .20 per cooking session with gas. Again, this is a small price to pay if charcoal is the only authentic flavor for you, but it is something to consider if you’re worried about cost.

Advantages of gas barbecue grills
Gas grills are perfect for authentic grilling (no smoky flavor, but still a similar heat as compared to charcoal), and they are easy to get going. All you generally have to do is to flip a switch and change out the grill’s gas tank every once in awhile once you begin to run low on fuel.

Disadvantages of gas grills
In general, gas grills aren’t any safer than charcoal grills if you’re trying to grill in small spaces. (For that, choose an electric grill.) Gas barbecue grills are also quite a bit more expensive than charcoal, although with charcoal, the cost of the gas grill is offset by not having to invest in charcoal briquettes every time you want to grill.

The bottom line? For that authentic charcoal broiled taste, choose charcoal barbecue grills. For convenience without the hassle of charcoal grill clean up, choose gas barbecue grills.

More Portable Charcoal Grill Articles

BBQ Charcoal Grill Related Blogs